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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

SESSION 2020-21

CLASS-X

POLITICAL SCIENCE- Ch-4-Gender, Religion and Caste

Lesson Notes

SUB-TOPIC-2

SUB TOPIC NOTES
(Pg-
43,44,45)
Gender and
politics Status of women’s representation in India’s legislative bodies:
The one way to ensure that women related problems get adequate attention
is to have more women as elected representatives. To achieve this, it is
legally binding to have a fair proportion of women in the elected bodies.
 In India, the proportion of women in legislature has been very low. The
percentage of elected women members in the Lok Sabha is 10 % of its
total strength. Their share in the state assemblies is less than 5 %.
 Under the Panchayati Raj system, one-third of seats in panchayats and
municipalities are now reserved for women.
 Women organizations and activists have been demanding a similar
reservation of at least one-third seats in the Lok Sabha and the State
Assemblies for women. This proposal has been pending before the
government for more than a decade.

2019-Election Result:

Women’s representation has steadily increased in the Lok Sabha. In
the first-ever election, only 5% of the House consisted of women. Now,
that has increased to 14%.
At 78 elected women MPs, the 17th Lok Sabha will have the highest
number of women representatives ever. They will account for 14.39%
of the entire strength of the Lower House, which was at 12.5% with a
total 65 women MPs in the previous Lok Sabha.

With 40 women MPs, BJP has sent the largest number of elected
women representatives to Lok Sabha because of the sheer size of its
victory.